Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line

Carmarthen-Aberystwyth Line
Legend
Aberystwyth
Vale of Rheidol Railway
Cambrian
Line
to Machynlleth
& Shrewsbury
Llanrhystyd Road
Vale of Rheidol Railway
(narrow gauge)
Llanilar
Mid Wales Railway
to Shrewsbury
Felindyffryn Halt
Llanidloes
Trawscoed
Mid Wales Railway
to Builth
Caradog Falls Halt
Llangurig branch
(never saw use)
Strata Florida
(Ystrad Fflur)
unbuilt connection
15 miles (24 km)
Alltddu Halt
Tregaron
 Pont Llanio
 Olmarch Halt
 Llangybi
Newcastle Emlyn
Derry Ormond
Pontgoch
Aberaeron branch
Teifi Valley Railway
(narrow gauge)
Lampeter
Henllan
Llanybydder
Pentrecourt Platform
Maesycrugiau
Llandyssul
Bryn Teifi
 Pencader
 Pencader Tunnel
985 yd
901 m
 Llanpumpsaint
 Conwil
Danycoed Halt
Llwyfan Cerrig
Gwili Railway
Bronwydd Arms
Abergwili Junction
Heart of Wales Line
 Carmarthen Town
 River Gwili
 Carmarthen
 West Wales Line

The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line was originally a 4 ft 8½-in (1,435-mm)standard-gauge branch line of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in Wales, connecting Carmarthen and Aberystwyth.

It is now also a proposed railway link from Carmarthen railway station to Aberystwyth railway station, with five new proposed stations at Llanilar, Tregaron, Lampeter, Llanybydder and Pencader, with an estimated cost between £505 million and £700 million.

At Carmarthen, the line connected with the GWR mainline from London Paddington to Fishguard. At Aberystwyth, the line connected with the Cambrian Line. The line also had connecting branches to Aberaeron, Llandeilo and Newcastle Emlyn.

As a result of floods and the Beeching Axe, the line was entirely closed to passengers from 1965. Freight transport from Pont Llanio creamery (near Tregaron) to Aberaeron Junction (near Lampeter) ended in 1970; that from Aberaeron and the Newcastle Emlyn branch to Carmarthen ended in September 1973. The tracks were lifted in 1975.

History

Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway

The first section of line between Carmarthen and Conwil was opened in 1860 by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway. This ran from Carmarthen to Newcastle Emlyn, never reaching Cardigan. The line was built as a broad-gauge route, with a third standard-gauge line added later, after the M&MR line was built.

Manchester and Milford Railway

The Manchester and Milford Railway was an ambitious proposal to connect Manchester and the industrialised Midlands and Northwest England with the docks at Milford Haven. This was a standard gauge line using the LNWR and Midland Railway metals (the M&MR would have connected with the Mid-Wales Railway at Llanidloes) and then, via a junction at Strata Florida, with the C&CR at Pencader. Trains would then have run on the C&CR to Carmarthen before connecting to the Pembroke and Tenby Railway for connection to the deepwater port at Milford Haven. The plan was that, combined with industrial traffic from South Wales, Milford Haven could "provide the Lancashire cotton industry with [an] alternative port to Liverpool."[1][2]

The Llangurig branch as built

The scheme ran into financial difficulties. The simplest section had been constructed first which meant that it faced undertaking the toughest engineering challenge - the line between Llanidloes and Strata Florida - when the money was running out. Though it started on the Llangurig branch, diverging from the Mid-Wales Railway at Penpontbren Junction, and got as far as Llangurig, it was decided, in 1865, instead to simply divert the Lampeter route to Aberystwyth rather than build it through the mountains, abandoning the hope for a strategic route. It has been suggested that the bankruptcy of Thomas Savin, renowned Welsh railway engineer and investor, in the 1860s, may have been partly involved as it was with the failure of several other Welsh railway projects.[3] It opened this modified through line in 1867 and remained independent until taken over by the Great Western Railway by 1911.

The initial 1861 route survey (which had parliamentary approval) and a later 1864 route were locally controversial.[2] The unbuilt section between Strata Florida and the railhead of the Llangurig branch would have been through very mountainous terrain, although only 15 miles (24 km) in length as the crow flies.

Closure

The line closed in two stages - the northern section closed prematurely in December 1964 when a section of the line one mile east of Llanilar was damaged by floods from the adjacent River Ystwyth. The remaining southern section closed to passengers in February 1965, a part of a nation-wide process of railway closures and system rationalisation (see Beeching Cuts). Goods traffic continued in the form of milk trains from Carmarthen to Pont Llanio (just south of Tregaron) and the Felin Fach creamery (on the Aberaeron branch line) using Class 35 Hymek haulage until 1970, and with Class 37 haulage until the line closure in 1973.

Current status

Disused railway bridge over the River Gwili on the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line

Gwili Railway

In 1974, the Gwili Railway was founded and, in 1978, began operating a service over several miles of the line from Bronwydd Arms, north of Carmarthen. The company intends to restore services between Abergwili Junction and Llanpumsaint.[4]

Disused railway

In the north, parts of the trackbed from Aberystwyth to Trawsgoed, plus Ystrad Meurig via the Strata Florida station site to just south of the former Allt-ddu halt on Tregaron Bog (adjacent to the B4343 road) have been incorporated into the Ystwyth Trail cycle route. However, the section of trackbed from Trawsgoed station to just south of Ystrad Meurig including the tunnel adjacent to the former Caradog Falls halt is unavailable, being mostly in private ownership. On the Ystwyth Trail eastward from Llanilar to Trawsgoed, the flooding damage which caused closure of the line in December 1964 can be seen.

During the mid-1990s, a narrow-gauge railway was unsuccessfully proposed by the Ystwyth Valley Preservation Society—based on reopening a section of route from Llanilar to Llanfarian. Some items of standard-gauge rolling stock were moved into Llanilar station yard at the time - including an LNER compartment coach plus some 4-wheel tank wagons.

Quantities of trackbed and bridge abutments remain along the route, although some parts have been farmed over. Other surviving remains include, from north to south:

Stations

Named from north to south, unless otherwise stated:[5]

Bryn Teifi station in 1962

Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway

Manchester and Milford Railway

Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway

Constructed

[6]

Proposed

Reopening

Official talks of reopening started in 2014, when First Minister Carwyn Jones shared their support towards the reopening,[7] and it was adopted as an official policy of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.[8] The next two years were followed by support from Carmarthenshire County Council, Ceredigion County Council, the Minister for Science, Economy and Transport (Welsh Government) and Plaid Cymru.[9] Official talks and meeting included Stephen Crabb MP, Secretary of State for Wales and James Price, Director General, Economy, Science and Transport (Welsh Government) shortly followed by the AECOM report.[10] There have been several support, funding and help pledges.

In October 2016, the Welsh government announced it would be allocating £300,000 towards funding a feasibility report into re-opening the railway as part of the draft 2017-18 budget.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ (Context of) Thomas Edward Owen (Manchester and Milford Railway) Papers at Archives Wales, National Library of Wales
  2. 1 2 Pontrhydfendigaid An archival site about the subject district
  3. ↑ Railways that never were Discussion at Google Group UK Railway, January 2007
  4. ↑ Gwili Steam Railway: History at Gwili Steam Railway Company (a community-supported commercial enterprise)
  5. ↑ Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway at Railscot, railbrit.co.uk
  6. ↑ Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway at Railscot, railbrit.co.uk
  7. ↑ First Minister Shows his support
  8. ↑ Welsh Lib Dems Signal Support for Reopening
  9. ↑ Plaid Cymru Support - note the 5th paragraph down
  10. ↑ AECOM Report
  11. ↑ "Carmarthen to Aberystwyth rail links a step closer after funding pledge". South Wales Evening Post. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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